About the Delaware River and its tributary streams -
With an occasional voyage into uncharted waters

Friday, September 09, 2011

Remnants of Lee flood...

The Delaware River @ the Rieglesville gage crested at 28.06', which is just a few feet under "major flood stage." It's still high enough to cause flooding problems for the most vulnerable floodplain dwellers. Towns like Yardley and West Trenton were inundated. I'll be touring the Delaware River in my neighborhood (Upper Black Eddy) tomorrow and report.

Of particular interest will be how the Delaware Canal towpath weathered this flood. Repairs from the 2004, 2005 and 2006 floods were just completed last year with a total cost of approximately $29,000,000. It's doubtful that the towpath and canal will suffer that much damage, but with current budget constraints and dwindling amounts of FEMA money...it's not a good situation.

The Musconetcong River nearly reached the record level it attained last week. That's a terrible tragedy for the folks who were flooded out by Irene.

The Perkiomen Creek (largest tributary to the Schuylkill River) also reached a near record flood level of 14'. The Schuylkill had many other flooded tribs (Tulpehocken) and the river itself flooded a few towns, roads and floodplain homes.

The Susquehanna River and its tributaries got the worst of this tropical system. Let's hope it dries out before the next system gets here. The tropical wave train is cranking up!

This weekend I'll be reporting the other issue that plagues the Delaware River: what role did the NYC Reservoirs play in this flood? Based on the Delaware River stream gages, it appears the answer is 'minimal.'